Virgin One rebrands with £15m ad campaign

The Virgin One account is to rebrand as The One account as part of the deal that saw The Royal Bank of Scotland buy the company outright from Virgin and AMP in July 2001.

A £15m ad campaign using the classic children&#39s TV show Hector&#39s House is launching The One account on national TV and in national press and targets consumer apathy towards UK banking which some firms estimate costs Britons £80bn every year.

The One account has moved its product forward and announced its ambition to launch new products and enter new markets to extend flexible finance to millions more Britons over the next five years.

From January 2003 the One account will offer the opportunity for customers to see their mortgage, savings and current account balances online, over the phone and on statements, the option of a borrowing facility that reduces automatically over time, and access to the One account without the need to pay a salary into the account.

Additional new product and service developments in the pipeline over the next 12 months also includes a flexible mortgage option, a fixed-rate option, a buy-to-let product, and packages aimed specifically at the self-employed and first time buyers

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, managing director at The One account, says: ” The good news is that, although our name is changing, the people behind our success to date are not. This means the same award-winning service from the same team. We will continue to build on our reputation as the UK&#39s leading provider of flexible finance.”

Norman McLuskie, chief executive of retail direct for The Royal Bank of Scotland, says: “The Virgin One account has led the way forward for the UK mortgage market. I am confident that this success will continue with the One account championing the consumer by tailoring products to suit their individual needs.”

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